Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Lark Creek Steak is another restaurant from Bradley Ogden's expanding empire of culinary outlets. However, unlike other over-hyped restaurants from celebrity chefs, this one was quite a pleasant experience. While the menu has several options including pot pies, roasts and seafood, the steaks at this restaurant is highly regarded.

The restaurant is located on the fourth level of the Westfield shopping mall. The decor is warm, lots of wood, but modern and well lit. The large open kitchen sits on the far end of the dining room.

I started off with Bradley's acclaimed Ceasar Salad and immediately knew why this simple dish gets so much praise from reviewers. The presentation and the taste were both appealing and set the stage for the meat that was to follow. Whole leaf Romaine and parmesan croutons have never looked and tasted better!

I had ordered a Bone-in Ribeye and the slab of meat that arrived looked suitably overwhelming. 16 oz of buttery and nutty tasting meat that had been dry aged for 28 days before being cooked perfectly! It seemed like a travesty to even use the accompanying horseradish sauce. The mixed beans I had ordered on the side were fantastic too: a mixture of different beans, cooked to perfection with flakes of red chillies and slivers of garlic.

Even though I was quite full, I was tempted by another of this restaurant's signature dishes: the Butterscotch Pudding dessert. The dessert was nice, soft and freshly made, topped with whipped cream and chocolate granules.

I also returned to an old favorite, Ame. This time I took a seat at the sushi bar and ordered a sake from Hokkaido which was rather nice. The oysters poached in a creamy sauce and made into a pot pie was interesting and so hot I singed my tongue!

The suckling pig was soft and fatty contrasting with the crisp bacon wrapping on the outside. The dish was served on a bed of shitake mushrooms and peas.

The dessert of strawberry parfait with iced milk and toasted nuts tasted as good as it looks in the picture!